Re: smashed hostas

Hi Linda,
This happens here with our ice/hail storms all the time. Remove the leaves
with broken petioles. Those still well attached but flattened, just leave
alone. Propping up may do more damage than not. Watch your hosta for
decomposing leaves and bits and remove those as you see them. Above all,
don't fret, those hostas will be as good as ever, or even better next year.
All you need now is patience. As a gardener you probably have learned this
prerequisite already. I have had hostas completely flattened by late ice
storms or hail storms(ours come up very early) and by July they were back,
as good as new, and the following year they are usually better clumps
because the loss of leaves wakes up the dormant buds in the rhizome. Best,
W. George
W. George Schmid
Hosta Hill - Tucker Georgia USA
Zone 7a - 1188 feet AMSL
84-12'-30" West_33-51' North
----- Original Message -----
From: <falkora@smig.net>
To: <hosta-open@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 10:38 AM
Subject: smashed hostas
> I hope someone can offer me some advice on what to do about a couple
> of hostas smashed by a fallen tree. The top half of a large spruce
> tree was blown over in a storm last night, and fell right on top of
> my best, most established hosta bed. When I went out this morning I
> thought the whole bed was ruined...all I could see was the spruce
> tree. When I finally finished cutting the tree into small enough
> pieces that I could move them out on the lawn, I was amazed at how
> little damage was done! Only two hostas were badly damaged. I had a
> huge clump of 'Sugar and Cream' the biggest one I have seen and it
> was just flattened. Many leaves were just hanging by a thread and
> I've removed those. Others are laying flat on the ground (I didn't
> realize what long petioles this hosta has until I see them flat) but
> are still in one piece. Should I cut off all the leaves? Or prop up
> the remaining ones so they aren't laying on the ground?
> For the leaves that are broken off, many of the remaining petioles
> are 8-9 inches long. Should I trim them off at the ground or leave
> them long? I hate to give up on this plant (one of my favorite
> fragrant cultivars) because there has to be a tremendous root system
> under the ground! The other hosta was 'Tattoo', which was completely
> crushed. All I can do with it is wait and see if any new growth
> comes up. But I expect I will have to replace it.
> Linda Kofstad
> S.Minn.
> --
>
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